Budget Car Rental Reviews 

This company was absolutely dreadful to deal with. We were at Orlando airport. Initially we had to queue for 45 minutes to get to the desk in the airport . Hardly any staff wereworking and it was so slow. Following this we went down to the car garage to pick up the car where there was two people working and we had to queue again. When we eventually got to the desk we were told to go to our car. We loaded up the car and went to drive out and there were no keys in the car. No one knew where the keys were and they couldn’t be found. We were the told that there were no cars and we would have to wait for a car to be serviced and then brought to us. We had to wait more than 30 minutes and no car arrived ! At this point my husband pointed out to staff that there was a similar car to the original one we were meant to have got! We were eventually given that car after 2 hours! Disgraceful service! Unfriendly staff!

Clicked an ad for 35% off my booking and used the promo code to book. Asked about it at pickup as I didn't see it on the estimate at that time. They told me it would be applied at dropoff, and I was in a rush, so I said "sounds good". When I dropped the car off, it was a few minutes after hours, so I dropped the keys in the dropbox. Impossible to get support, and when calling the location it would always redirect to corporate. Nobody I talked to could help, they all said I needed screenshots of the booking. I didn't take screenshots or have enough evidence or time to make it worthwhile to pursue. This is a bait and switch scam, as they aren't going to honor the discount unless you spend lots of time and effort both in the booking process and follow up afterward. It is dishonest and a terrible business practice.

Budget gave us a smaller suv than we ordered and paid for, as well as charged us for fuel even though we filled it up and took a picture to prove it. How do you come up with an amount of fuel to charge for if it was returned full? The rental we got had 1/3rd less cargo than what we ordered so we had to drive from airport to the hotel and back with luggage on our laps. I will think twice before ever using Budget again.

Hired a car from Budget in Tampa and the unexpected extras cost more than the car hire itself.

Avoid the unlimited Toll option as that is a rip off, they put additional roadside recovery on but didnt tell me and the refuelling options were obtuse to say the least.

Customer services dont care and they will only give me a number in the US to call to discuss it which would cost a fortune.

Avoid at all costs.

Budget car rental at Podgorica airport in Montenegro. We get there and there are only 2 parties ahead of us. Guy argues with the customer for about an hour. There is literally another employee next to him doing nothing but when I asked if he could process me he said "you have to wait".
For the actual reservation, my credit card already has liability protection so I wanted to decline. He said in order to decline completely he needs a $10k hold. Not 1k, not 2k, or even 5k, but $10,000. Never heard of that much before at a car rental place. Or I take the basic protection and pay $25 more per day. For absolutely nothing. Terrible experience, would never rent here again

Very disappointing experience at the Budget office in Milan.

Our family arrived to collect a prepaid rental car, only to be refused because Budget required an International Driving Permit in addition to my Ukrainian driving licence. Regardless of the policy itself, the way the situation was handled was unacceptable.

The employee, Lawrence, repeatedly told us that it was "the law of the country" but refused to clearly explain it. When we politely asked to speak with a manager, he initially refused and repeatedly suggested that we "call the police", even showing us the police number on his phone. We were also refused any written confirmation that Budget had declined to provide the vehicle.

Only after nearly an hour did we finally speak with the actual manager, who was calm and professional and explained that this was Budget's internal policy.

We then rented a car from another company without any problems using the same documents.

To make matters worse, £234.95 is still outstanding despite Budget refusing to provide the vehicle.

I cannot recommend this location based on the way my family was treated. Customers deserve clear communication, respectful service and written confirmation when a prepaid reservation is refused.

Got charged an extra 370+ dollars from the 600 that I paid on the 14th for a four day rental in a car that was suppose to cost 72 dollars per day. Charged me for turning it in late 3 days. I turned it in on the 18th at 10:30-11:30 AM because it was due at 12PM. In total I got hit for 970+ dollars for a midsized car that was advertised at 72 per day. Absolutely insane. I Will tell everyone at OU hospital in Oklahoma to not use Budget if they travel. Unless, they charge me the 600 on my original, recite…. Very doubtful though based on these reviews.

I started a budget rental via a button on
their site for an Amazon rewards program. This button made me login to my amazon account. From there I proceeded to book a rental for 9 days picking up a car in Anchorage 6/13/26. During the reservation process I also HAD TO VERIFY LOGON TO AMAZON account. After returning the car, I inquired as to my amazon gift card that should be attached to my account. I was told it would be 15 days before someone would get back to me.....four weeks later I get receipt for my rental and a "you didn't sign in right" as to my gift card. This is hooey! I started the rental via the amazon login and took all the other verifications to verify
and be given this $120 gift card. Avis/budget group is nothing but a bunch of con artists! Like the $120 you owe me is going to break your bottom line!

We have rented a van from Budget, Nantes airport for 8 days. It had a big gash on the side, which was noted in the contract. However not an hour after we returned it in the same condition we were charged 2666 euros for the same damage. The company is very unresponsive and over the weekend another charge of 2466 euros appeaed on our credit card. This is a very incomfortable situation for our family and causing us a big stress. We have photos from before the rental to prove the damage was already there and Budget is not doing anything about it......

I recently purchased a Vacation Package through jetBlue including the car rental with this company. Never before rented through jetBlue or with Budget, and to my surprise after seeing the pickup line and experiences before my turn, the agent that attended my pickup after I asked for toll charges and gas fill up, he did not provide me with a printed copy of my contract or send me an email copy. He said tolls were included and I did not have to return the car gas tank full. To my understanding that meant everything was already charged and no other charges would apply. After my return I only was provided a receipt of the cost, not contract, and obviously they did charge for filling up the 1/2 tank and charged the tolls without giving a heads up or explaining this when I pickup or returned the car. I placed a dispute charge because it was a deceiving practice and did not want to refund anything saying that this was standard practice. DO NOT RENT with this company or pay for vacation packages that in the end will charge you more than if you rented on your own.

Horrible company … horrible customer service … the absolute worst !!! reservations mean nothing, they charge you for random things and you cannot contact a person to fix any issues! If you do, they will give you the worst text book answer and their sincere apologies. If I would have actually got the car, I was promised and ended up wrecking, would they have accepted my sincere apologies !?!? Not hardly !!! no accountability !!!!!

I reserved a Toyota Prius at LaGuardia but after a 2-hour wait on July 17 midnight it wasn't available so I took another car.The next day I was told to exchange it in NJ as the car was not in good condition and also was smelling bad but the Prius I was given in liberty international airport had an engine warning light, service maintained light .After another long wait with no help I canceled.I used the car only from July 17 midnight to July 18 evening but was charged for 7-8 days.

Customer service both the at counter and on the call were horrible. No courtesy. Never ever again with them.

I initiated a request to Apple Pay for refund. I'll even goto consumer court if needed

I wish I had an option to give 0 star

We waited over 3½ hours to get our rental car along with around 30 other customers, and the entire experience was incredibly disorganized. We eventually got a car, but many others were still left waiting when we left. It cost us an entire day of our family vacation in the Outer Banks—paradise on earth—and that’s time we’ll never get back. Delays happen, but waiting this long with so little communication is simply unacceptable. I wouldn’t recommend Budget based on this experience.

Absolute robbery!!! Paid a security deposit of 300 GBP. Charged me 188 GBP to full up a car 3/4 tank. The car costs 65 GBP for a FULL tank!!! Also charged me location surcharge, vehicle licensing fee and one way fee!!!!! Basically trying to keep my entire security deposit. Fuming. ALL SHOULD HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE RENTAL FEE!!! Worst company ever, should be shut down.

i booked a car online on 14th may to be picked up at dublin air port on 3rd june which cost £107.43 paid at time of booking.this money was taken from my account on 18th may .when i checked in at their desk i was refused the car i had booked as i did not have a letter from my own car insurers giving my accident history over the last 5 years.there was no mention of needing this history when i booked i was now stranded at dublin airport and as senior citizens my wife and i found this very worrying .the girl at the desk said i would get a refund within 4 days .as of today and after many e mails and phone calls that were cut off in mid talk i am still waiting

Awful experience. Queues of pver 2 hours. 800e for the car for one week. Car wasn't there. Given another car which was not cleaned. When we complained, the employees shouted at us like we were the problem, not them... nothing to do with them that the car wasn't cleaned. Very poor experience and service and price in Nice airport. Would avoid this company.

I am renting a van from budget to move from California to Tennessee. At the moment I am stuck on the side of I 40 7 miles outside of Conway Arkansas with a blown tire. This is the second issue I’ve had today. I already lost 2 hours from the previous issue and now I am a petite woman, with 2 dogs, a cat, and a truck full of my belongings sitting in the van shaking as traffic flies by me. It is 7:10 at night and I am still waiting for them to call me back with when someone is coming to help. I am now concerned for my safety and the safety of my animals

These are the most shameless people with absolutely zero credibility in this line of business.
With an hour and a half left before I was supposed to pick up the car (scheduled for 12:00 PM), they called to say it wouldn't be ready by noon and that they would let me know in an hour—which they never did.
When I complained (at 2:00 PM) and asked when the car would be available at the pickup location specified in my reservation, they told me they didn't have one there but had one available at another location. However, they said it couldn't be at the price I had already paid ($290.84); the new price would be $890.00, with the difference to be settled when I returned the car. You can imagine my shock—I was absolutely floored by that news.
The guy coldly told me, "This is the option I have; take it or leave it."
The agent's name is Adrian (ID number 01883); I will never, ever rent from these sons of bad woman again.

Hidden charges adding another 25% to my hire cost. Also customer service leaves you on hold in the hope that you will give up (over an hour). Shame that one of the bigger service providers is just as shady as the smaller firms. Avoid Avoid Avoid!

On 02/07/2026, I experienced an unacceptable delay when attempting to collect my rental car. The wait was so long that I had to leave because I was travelling with a newborn and a toddler who could not wait outside in the heat.

As a result, I was unable to collect the vehicle and had to pay for two Uber journeys, causing me additional expense and inconvenience.

I was also disappointed with the after-sales customer service, as the call waiting times were excessively long, making it difficult to get a resolution to my complaint.